Bean snipping machine



Aug. 15, 1950 B. 1. BUCK BEAN SNIPPING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed July 24, 1947 Now INVENTOR- Benjamm 1. Back [1 BY X /5 ATTORNEYS Aug. 15, 1950 B. 1. BUCK BEAN SNIPPING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 7 Filed July 24,- 1947 INVENTOR. Benjamm f. BucK BY IS ATTOR/VEYJ Aug. 15, 1950 B. l. UCK 2,518,598

BEAN SNIPPING MACHINE 4 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 24, 1947 Fig: 11 A 85 I r50 84 86 V M 5o INVENTOR. Benjamin Back ///5 ATTORNEYS fiymbqa Aug. 15, 1950 B. l. BUCK BEAN SNIPPING MACHINE Filed July 24, 1947 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 INVENTOR. Benjamin J. Buck BY W1 mum /uw&w 2 n 1113 A'rron/wz Y5 Patented Aug. 15,

NITED STATES PATENT OFFICE I I 2,518,598 r SNEEPING MACHINE filaltimore, Md, assignor of one-half to H. Beale Rollins, Baltimore, Md.-

1'947, SerialNo. 763,360 j 3 claims. (or 14646") A This invention relates to" a bean shipping ma chine, and more particularlypertains tosuc-h amachine wherein beans'areintroduced intoper forated' hollow cylinder tumblers, in a continu ous stream and discharged therefrom in a continuous stream, the. beans, during. the stumbling action, havingthe ends thereof, which protrude through the perforationssnippedoff by stationary knives located in shearing contact with the outersurface ofthe cylinder surfaces.

In Old and well knownitypes-of perforated cylinder beansnipping machines, as described in my United States Patents l-,882;l81- and 1,990,425, the batch method of-bean shipping was-employed, a'batch of beans being placed in: the perforated cylinders; and tumbledxtherein until, by the laws of chance, all but a trifling percentage thereof had; the ends trimmed therefrom, the time the V 2 Y charged I provide a conveyor bean delivery means at the receiving end of such unit, and in order t9 more eifectively utilize such conveyor means I provide anumberoi Shipping units in parallel, side by side, with gate means individual toeach unit to gauge the shareof beans continuously received thereby, The conveyormeans is suppliediby a commonhcpper into which a supply of beans is dumped from time to time. a

, Therefore, it is an object of this invention to provide abean shipper of the perforated cylinder tumbling type which continuouslysnips the ends of beans delivered thereto: in controlled numbers.

centagfi Qfbeansof the batch thathad thetends I trimmed therefrom. In this old type of batch treatment,-- the r'nechanismhad to bej stopped, whilethe beans were unloaded and 1oaded',,requiring the services of stand-by workmen and accurate timing of-the length of each of the ;.i

tumbling operations. g 7. By this invention, I providea; cylindrical tumbler bean s ipping device which automatically,

as set; dependingupQn the grade; of beans-being;

treated, continuously accepts beans; and dis,- charges them, without stopping of the machine and ,;w ithoutrequiring the services of stand-1237 operators, and during the time the beans are" in,

with the receiving endhigher than the discharge end, so that the beans are transferred from one end of the unit to the other by gravity, the trans-,

fer from cylinderto cylinder being accomplished by special means which I provide,- fonthat pur pcse, false-provide a gate means'gauging the de: livery of beans to a unit, as delivered by a conveyor, to a stream of a size, which assures that all;

the beans delivered'to theunit or at;least-a'll;-butone or two percent-of them, have theends snipped,

therefrom as they pass therethrough and are dis- It is'a'no'ther object of; ,theinvention to provide a machine wherein beans are transferred by specialgravity transfer mechanism from sectiohto sectionof a long multi-cylinder unit.

Another object'of the invention is to provide sierra machine in which themulti -cylinder unit fo atesonan axis tilted to; the horizontal so that teansarie conveyed therethroughby gravity from the" elevated receiving end to the lower delivery end} Her object or the invention is to provide means for continuouslysupplying beans in a certern" selected amountto such a machine unit or to a plurality of'them in parallel arrangement. v WitHthse and'other objects in View which will b c'ome'apparfit" in the following specification and claims, I describe my invention in connectioniwith" the drawingsl in which; I H

Fig" 1' is aside elevation of the machine, with I; in framemembersbiolsfen away. I 7 F1gI12 1s 'a's'ecftionon line 2-2 o'f'Figl l, showing th'e'trihiniing kin-[terror the first cylindrical secti'o'nl Fig? 31s a" top pl'a'n'viewof the substance of 1; with, certain parts broken away. to reveal the. interior of certain of the cylindrical sections. Fig, 4'is' a' sectionthrough the machine on the linel -d f Fig} 3, V w 4 I v Fig. 5; isan en arsed detail of the joint between il y i d it e ti ns 1.911 t ine. F 4, Showing the flanged collar and transfer paddles.

6 lisa section on the line 6 5 of Fig. 3.

Fig, 7 is asectiorial view on the line T'i of Fig- V l V i lfig, cis a; vertical; longitudinal section of the leftend of-the cylinder unit of Fig. 1. a

I 9 is a-view similar to Fig, 5 showing the cylinder. unit. axis tilted: ,and; illustra-tingthe transfer of beans from one section :torthenext.

Fig 10 is an elevation ofthe left end ,ofthe cylindenunitvof- Fig; I 1, .on;-the' 1ine: l 62 ll of Fig.-

8, showing the support and driving mechanism.

Fig. 11 is a detail of the support for the receiving end of the unit shown in Fig. 10.

Fig. 12 is a view of the top end of the tilt adjusting mechanism.

Fig. 13 is a section on the line l3-l 3 of Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the conveyor system for supplying a plurality of units, continuously, with beans.

Fig. 15 is an elevation of the substance of Fig. 14.

In the drawings the same reference numbers are given to the same parts throughout the several views, and the sectional views are taken on the section lines looking in the direction of the arrows.

Framework and drive for the bean snipping unit Referring to Figs. 1, 3, 7, 10, 11 and 13, I provide a supporting frame comprising leg pieces 29, 2!, 22 and 23, upper longitudinal stretchers 24 and 25, corresponding lower longitudinal stretchers, of which one, 26, is shown in Fig. 1, and cross stretchers 2'! and 28.

Within the frame is a tiltable cylinder unit support frame comprising longitudinal stretchers 29 and 39, joined by cross members, to be described, which support and act as bearings for the said cylinder unit. The mid-point of the tiltable support frame is connected by arcuate member 3] (Fig. 13) bolted to the under edges of stretchers 29 and 39. At the receiving end of the bean snipping unit, which is at the left in Figs. 1 and 3, the stretchers 29 and 39 are joined by arcuate cross support members 32 and 33 (see Fig. 11) bolted respectively to the upper and lower edges thereof. At the delivery end of the bean snipping unit, which is at the right in Figs. 1 and 3, the stretchers 29 and 38 are joined by arcuate cross member 34 (see Fig. 7) bolted to the under edges thereof. The several cross members have rollers mounted therein to support, for rotation, the cylinder unit to be described. The tilting frame, or cradle, thus constructed, has bolted, on the side of stretcher 39, a plate 35 (Figs. 1 and 3) from which extends a trunnion pin 36 which is held in a bearing 31 bolted to the top of stretcher 24 of the support frame. Referring to Fig. 3, stretcher 29 has a plate 38 secured to its outside, said plate having a hollow trunnion pin 39 extending outwardly to be held in bearing 49 bolted to the top of support frame stretcher 25 and extending inwardly through a hole 4| bored in stretcher 29, ending in a recess 42 cut on the inner side of said stretcher. It is apparent that the tilting frame, or cradle may be rocked on the horizontal axis passing through bearings 31 and 4B. To adjust the structure so the delivery end of the cylindrical unit, to be described, held in the tilting frame, is lower than the receiving end, the bearings 31 and have been displaced from the mid-point of the framework toward the receiving end, or left, as seen in Fig. 1, so the center of gravity of the framework is toward the delivery end, thus causing that end to be drawn down by gravity. To adjust the tilt to the proper degree to insure the proper progression of beans from the receiving end of the cylindrical unit to the delivery end thereof, by gravity, 9. rod 43 (see Figs. 1 and 12) depending from arcuate support member 34 has a ball 44 on its end, which is held in a socket 45 wobble-mounted in a screw bolt 46 adjustably mounted in floor-based support 41 by means of nut 48.

Referring to Figs. 1, 3 and 10, a pulley shaft 59 (Fig. 3) extends through hollow trunnion pin 39, and has secured to its outer end a pulley 5| and to its inner end a bevel gear 52 which meshes with a bevel gear 53 secured on one end of shaft 54 mounted in bearings 55 and 56 secured to the inner face of stretcher 29. The other end of shaft 54 has secured thereto a sprocket gear 51 through which the cylinder unit, next to be described, may be rotatively driven in whatever degree of tilt it is caused to assume.

The cylinder unit Referring to Figs. 1, 3 and 5, the cylinder unit includes four hollow cylindrical elements or sections 68, BI, 62 and 63, made of perforated sheet metal, or similar material, joined end to end, as best seen in Fig. 5, by rings, like ring 64 joining sections 60 and 9 I. Ring 64, taken as an example, has laterally extending flanges 65 and 66 (Fig. 5) to which the associated cylindrical sections are bolted, and has an inwardly tapering flange 61 which provides a restricted circular opening 68 (see Fig. 4) or aperture between the two cylindrical sections. Referring to Figs. 4 and 5, the opening 68 is provided with a flanged collar 69a bolted to the side of ring 64 which comprises the end of cylindrical section 38 and flaring inwardly and laterally into cylindrical section 6!, leaving the edge of the collar bordering the aperture B8 sharp, to make it easier to cause the beans to transfer from one cylindrical section to the other, as will be explained.

The receiving end of the cylindrical unit is closed by an end piece 69 (Fig. 2) having a central circular aperture 18 from which extends outwardly a barrel-like bean receiving throat H (Figs. 1 and 8), the outer end of which is provided with a sprocket gear 12 coupled by chain 13 to sprocket gear 51, whereby the cylindrical unit is rotated. The inner side of end piece 69 is provided with a flanged distributing collar 14 (Fig. 8).

The delivery end of the cylindrical unit is provided with an end wall I5 (Fig. '7) having a central aperture 16 provided with an outwardly projecting and outwardly flaring collar 'I'I (see also Figs. 1 and 3) through which the snipped beans are delivered onto a sorting table 99.

The ring 18 (Figs. 1, 3 and 13) is provided on its outer periphery with side walls to form a track 19 which rides on rollers and 8| (Fig. 13) journaled on studs held in upwardly extending flange 82 of member 3|, to rotatively support the middle of the cylindrical unit. Surrounding the bean receiving barrel-like member 'H (Fi 1) is a ring 83 having side walls to form a track in which ride rollers 84, 85, 88, 81, 88 and 89 (Fig. 11) journaled on studs extending between flanges 99 and 9| integral with members 32 and 33, to form a roller support and. retaining means for the receiving end of the cylindrical unit. At the delivery end of the cylindrical unit is a flanged ring 92 (Figs. 1 and 3) having a circumferential track 93 and an end thrust surface 94. Rollers 95 and 96 (Fig. 7) journaled on studs projecting sidewardly from a vertical flange on member 34 ride in track 93 to rotatively support the delivery end of the cylindrical unit. The thrust surface 94 bears against surface 91 (Fig. 1) of member 34 to hold the cylindrical unit from endwise movement when tilted to the position shown in Fig. 1.

Stretching between the end walls of each section are a number of tumbling rods, like rods I09 and IM (Fig. 3) in section 6 I, which operate to tumble and shift the beans as the unit is rotating to ber 1 31, associated with I44 and I64; being award tiieieever cesarean reenter eris- 3 J g t wita the ever-ranch on m 9 E rthe ends or cyli n'drical setidn's'" 60, '61, and as are ripper knife iases may 23,- [as and IE3;- respectively, and lower? nine blades I04, I24, ['44 and I64, respectively (F r.

Each l'ip'pl'ei' blade 1 I asseeieteu cylir-iflricalse be described as a typiea I v I03 is p died at a d 10E t I08 (see also Fig. 2-) hinged, 'IeS m9 and Iii! re-steriea to the ar stretcher sateen IE1 is yield gly retained in detent member III associated he seemed as area to i o H eifectiye position when desired Knives I23, I43 and IE3 are mounted re a like manner.

Two stretcher members H1 and I31 (Fig. 1) P are provided, stretcher ll 1, associated with knives 35 W4 and 1 24, being here en the "d by aii'uate member I I2 secured to the uridfi side of stretcher 3|] (Fig. 2) and beingheld on the other end in support riiiiiber 3| (Fig. 13) are stretcher mem- 40 ported "on one end in support inemliei I and erten at the other end- 9 'etrcua't pearl; rnembr I 38 seen-red to the i ide of" re cher 30. Fig-s. '1 and '2 magnate the lav/"er knife blades, knife blade I04 being taken as an example, are mounted. Secured to stretcher II1 are hinge plates H5 and H6 to which the knife blade I04 (Fig. 2) is pivoted and resiliently held against the cylindrical surface of section 60 by an adjustable spring II8. Knife blades I24, I44 and I64 are mounted in a similar manner.

Bean transfer mechanism As beans are introduced into the bean receiving throat 1| (Fig. 8) they are received into the interior of cylindrical section 60 and by the rotary tumbling action, work their Way by gravity toward the apertured wall separating sections 60 and 6| (Figs. 5 and 9) of the cylindrical unit and, if the bean transfer mechanism, now to be described were not provided, they would pile up until they were at a height which would allow them to tumble through the aperture 68 into section 6|, where the same action would be repeated. It is undesirable to have such an uncontrolled pilingup of the beans at the lower end of each cylindrical section as it interferes with the efficiency of the machine and may act to injure the beans. Therefore, on the lower end wall of each section, that is, at the right end of each section as seen in Figs. 1, 3, 5 and 9, I provide a pluralit of radial addles, preferably six in number, such as paddles I15, I16, I11, I18, I19 and I80 (Figs. 3 and 6) which are secured in edge and end abutment to a 75 a ring IBI having oril; flange I82 (Figs. 3 and 6) secured to the flange I82w associated-with the ring 18; joining sections 6i and I i2*, and anothe1- flange l-8 securedto flange I84 ofcollar I #5.

The detailed structure for the bean transfer mechanism, and its operation, will be explained with reference to Fig. 9, which shows the transfer mechanism between sections 6]] and EH i l lustratme w th ar ar ar d-hr the es during rotation; Paddles lsl, I92, I93 and I94 (see alsoFig; 5),- which comprise a portion of those in section Q0, are shown attached to ring I 95 secured to flange 65' of ring 64 andto collar 69a, the internal edges, such as edge I96 of paddle I91; comingnot quite to aperture I91. Asbeans I98 pile up at the lower end of section so the paddles-,- such as paddle I94 carry aportion of them upwardly, as the cylindrical unit rotates, to a poirrtwlrere the slope of the paddle causes them to start dropping off and downwardly, such action being completed by the time the paddle isat the top of its rotational cycle, as is the ease with paddte I91. Due to the'axial tiltor the cylindrical unit the vertical drop of the falling beanswill cause a portion of them 260 nearest the aperture to fall through the aperture into cylindrical tron er, the remainder are mg, or course, back into the pee "its for and aide-1 tilt er a g fer or the beans from seetien to section.- -By this transfer structure the beans may be made to rogress throng-I i the unit, sectien'ty seetien, at a rate which wil insure the proper bean shipping action, according to the kind and grade er beans being treat-ed, As before said, narrow edge 20! of such apertures, given by the shape of the sonar, givesmaxinium opportunit for the beans to fall into the next lower section.

Multiple system and 256712061101 :fed'f Referring to Figs. 14 and 15, I show, diagrammatically, three cylindrical been shipping units 205, 206 and 201, in parallel arrangement, the "genus of each having protruding thereir'ito the delivery end of a trough slidejlike trough slides 2G8, 209 and 2H], which are supplied with beans from an endless conveyor belt 2I I moving in thedirection of the arrow. The power roller 2I2, supporting one loop of the belt is driven through a pulley 2I3 and belt 2M from a motor, not shown. An idler roller not shown, supports the other end of the belt in the usual manner. A framework, comprising legs, stretcher members and cross members, like leg 2I5, stretcher members, 2I6 and 2H and cross membe 2I8, support the conveyor belt and standards 2I9, 22B and HI, to which diverting arms 222, 223 and 224 are hinged. Arms 222, 223 and 224 extend over the top stretch of the conveyor belt in scraping contact therewith, and may be adjustably swung on the associated hinge to extend a certain distance across the belt. Arms 222, 223 and 224 are progressively longer, relatively. As shown, beans deposited in hopper 225 will be carried by hopper unloading belt 226 moving in the direction of the arrow on rollers 221 and 22.8, driven through belt 229 by power pulley 230, and dropped onto conveyor belt 22I, to be carried in the direction of the diverting arms 222, 223 and 224, which each divert an aisle of beans into the associated cylindrical units. An operator by adjusting the arms from time to time can keep a continuous flow of beans entering into the units, at a selected rate for each unit.

Operation In operation, the various cylindrical units are tilted so the axes of rotation are adjusted to give the best bean snipping operation for the variety and grade of beans being used, and are started rotating after the knives have been adjusted to shearing position. Conveyor belts 2H and 226 then are set in motion and beans are dumped into hopper 225 after the arms 222, and 223 and '224 have been set so that approximately onethird of the conveyed beans is fed to each cylindrical unit. After beans start issuing from the cylindrical units, the tilt of the units is further adjusted, and the arms 222, 223 and 224 are regulated so the treated beans appear snipped in suificient percentage to meet the requirements of the user. From this point, the operation proceeds automatically as long as beans are dumped into the hopper 225. It is apparent that the speed of belts 225 and 2H may be regulated to produce further adjustment of the rate of feeding of the beans to the snipping units.

By my structure I provide a continuous bean snipp-ing machine which is eflicient in use and in the saving of auxiliary labor required for its operation.

I am aware that the device shown herein may be varied considerably without departing from the spirit of my invention and, therefore, I claim my invention broadly, as indicated by the appended claims.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and useful and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is:

1. A bean shipping machine comprising a plurality of cylindrical wall sections, each having a multiplicity of perforations therein; means for securing said sections to each other, end to end, with their axes in longitudinal alignment so that they have a common axis of rotation; transverse partitions disposed between and secured to adjacent sections, each partition having a central opening through which bean pods may feed from the interior of one section to the interior of the next adjacent section; a plurality of radialpaddles, secured to each partition at the feed side thereof, extending from the adjacent wall section to points adjacent the central opening in the partition, forming a series of pockets adjacent said partition and surrounding said central opening; a plurality of knives, one supported in engagement with the exterior of each wall section to cut oi? the ends of pods protruding through said perforations a the wall sections rotate; means for mounting said connected wall sections as a unit with its axis of rotation inclined to the horizontal; and means for rotating said connected Wall sections as a unit about said common axis of rotation, whereby pods lodged in the pockets at the discharge end of one wall section will be carried by rotation thereof to a point above the axis inclined to the horizontal and then drop by gravity through the central opening into the interior of the next cylindrical wall section so that bean pods will be fed continuously through said inclined rotating unit from the upper feed end to the lower discharge end thereof.

2. The bean shipping machine of claim 1 in which the central opening in each partition is defined by a sharp edge to prevent pods dropped from said pockets from lodging thereon.

3. The bean snipping machine of claim 1 in which the central opening in each partition is surrounded by an inclined flange on the side thereof opposite said pockets, forming a funnel flaring outwardly into the interior of the next cylindrical wall section.

BENJAMIN I. BUCK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in th idle of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,990,425 Buck Feb. 5, 1935 2,043,739 Erickson et al June 9, 1936 2,114,730 Urschel -1 Apr. 19, 1938 2,234,208 Thompson et a1. Mar. 11, 1941 

